Scottville, MI

Scottville is a Mason County city that began as a railroad stop and still has one of Michigan’s strangest hometown traditions. The Pere Marquette Railway put the place on the map in 1874, when it was called Mason Center; after a sawmill era and a name change to Sweetland, Hiram Scott platted the town and gave it the name it carries now. Scottville became a village in 1889 and a city in 1907. The Scottville Clown Band, started by local merchants in 1903 and revived after World War II, remains the signature oddball institution, raising money for music, arts, and education. West Shore Community College is just northwest, and Mason County Central serves K–12 students. Scottville is part rail town, part farm center, part marching spectacle.